Book Review: Asthma, Allergies, Children: A Parent’s Guide by Paul Ehrlich, M.D., Larry Chiaramonte, M.D. with Henry Ehrlich

As you all know, we're anti-resolutions on this blog, and rather make small changes
so this week I'm showcasing some books and products that can help you make the
small changes in your life, that may lead to larger ones! ENJOY!

Today's book concerns allergies in kids that as parents we may not be aware of. When our kids are in school, we think they are just 'catching' the bugs and colds from the friends, but what if they really have allergies or Asthma? this book will help you sort out the symptoms and see if you need to see your pediatrician and make changes in your child's diet!

Synopsis: Two of the most experienced pediatric allergy specialists in the country tackle the myths and realities of allergies and asthma and offer up a new manifesto to help parents and children cope with the irritants and hazards of the world we live in. Their easy-to-understand and lively book takes the mystery out of the medicine and pathology, using stories and humor to educate and motivate people to take the right actions.

The allergic process is compared what happens to with the military in a battle or a war.

Initially, the special forces parachute in and do reconnaissance in enemy territory, identifying command centers and strategic targets for attack. Then the infantry lands and there’s aerial bombardment, where the enemy is destroyed, but the surrounding tissue is threatened with collateral damage. Finally, there’s a third phase, with land mines and unexploded bombs left behind, and snipers and saboteurs remain underground while the civilian population struggles to recover.

The culprit is inflammation, the doctors say: “Inflammation is the most dangerous allergic response. Redness, swelling, pain, itching, or heat can all be important symptoms of an allergy. What happens if a cut goes untreated? An alarming infection can set in. Now imagine this happening in your child’s sinuses. Just because you can’t see the inflammation doesn’t mean that your child is not suffering.”

Inflammation in the lungs can cause asthma-a wheezing shortness of breath that can be minor or so severe as to cause permanent damage and even death.

Many physicians have a hard time identifying asthma- it

is misdiagnosed 30% of the time. They are even reluctant to use the A-word, because it is alarming to parents. But denial is counterproductive and a wait-and-see attitude is a recipe for chronic inflammation and permanent damage to the lungs.

Parents can use the same checklist of symptoms used by physicians to help diagnose asthma in school-aged children:

Does your child:

· Make noisy or wheezy sounds when breathing?

· Have a hard time taking a deep breath?

· Have a hard time breathing in cold weather?

· Develop coughs that won’t go away?

· Complain about chest tightness or pain after running?

· Wake up at night coughing?

· Have itchy, puffy or burning eyes or a runny, stuffy nose?

· Cough around pets?

In addition, one of the best diagnostic tools centers on a quick evaluation of the child’s quality of life and boils down to three simple questions:

Do you sleep tight?
Do you work right?
Do you play with might?

Each of these questions reflects a key signal of illness and health in the asthmatic child.

All sorts of misnomers and common myths are clarified. Big cities, with a high concentration of pollutants in the air, are a canary in a mine for the rest of the country. But no region is safe; recent research shows that asthma is as prevalent in rural areas as in the cities.

Parents who are fearful of using steroids because athletes have given them a bad name. But this is an urban myth. In reality your child’s medicine is a different thing entirely, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid, derived from the adrenal cortex, not the anabolic steroids which turns 97-pound weaklings into the Incredible Hulk, which are derived from testosterone.

Food allergies, particularly, are misunderstood and misdiagnosed and frequently result in malnutrition.

The bottom line? The most important thing that parents can do is to see an allergy specialist. Get a referral or get an appointment, do whatever it takes. Seeing a specialist is to best way to make sure your child gets the best and most effective treatment.

DR. PAUL M. EHRLICH was educated at Columbia University, trained in pediatrics at Bellevue Hospital at NYU, and allergy and immunology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is a partner at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at New York University Schoo of Medicine, attending physician in medicine and pediatrics at Beth Israel Medical Center, and attending physician at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, all in New York City. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. He has been featured as one New York’s top pediatric allergists in New York Magazine for the last ten years.

DR. LARRY CHIARAMONTE was educated at Yale College and trained in family practice, pediatrics, and allergy and immunology at Yale and John Hopkins. He has done groundbreaking research as well as clinical practice. He established a program that produced dozens of allergists in Brooklyn, New York, with a focus on inner-city populations. His work on compliance and use of peak flow meters are now part of the national guidelines for the treatment of allergy. He also started the first food allergy center in New York City and has undertaken several surveys with the NPI group regarding Americans’ beliefs about food allergy. Dr. Chiaramonte is now concentrating on asthma treatment relating to Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan and in high-risk populations in the South Bronx.

HENRY EHRLICH is co-author of Asthma Allergies Children: a Parent’s Guide and editor of the website. He is the author of several other books, including The Wiley Book of Business Quotations. He also writes on business for newgeography.com.

Review: I literally had this book in my hands for only a couple of hours when a friend called complaining her son was having some sort of allergy reaction, and a severe rash all of a sudden. As the book was in my hands, I went ahead and went thru it as we were talking and told her to check his medications and some items in his diet,as the book was saying they could possibly be the cause of the rash. It was enough to get her to go BACK to the doctor with her son and seek a new diagnosis. AND as of this writing, it looks like his diet is the culprit, with little known allergies coming into play.

Doctors are rushed in today's world. They need you to give them all available info so they can make a quick diagnosis. But what if you're not sure if something IS a symptom? This is where this book comes in. The authors give you examples of real children and parents to illustrate their points, and to let you know that mis-diagnosing a child is NOT unusual. Knowledge is the key and this book can give you that knowledge! Plus once the doctor decides to start tests, the book explains what tests should be used, what they test for and how the results should be handled.

Of special note is the last appendix with a list of common medicines and their side effects- always handy to have in an easily reachable form! You never know when a child's allergies or asthma can kick in, so it is VERY good to have this book to consult and to learn about the science and treatment of allergies/asthma BEFORE they start to affect your child! I can't recommend this book enough

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Direct Contact PR, for review purposes. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it either

ISBN 978-0-9843832-0-7